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Reality of Power Is The Business of The Church

Demonstration of Power Is Reality of The Church

The movement called The Church today started in Solomon’s Porch of the Temple in Jerusalem as a group of disciples of Jesus Christ who found a common venue in the House of God for expressing their variant of Judaism. The Upper Room had become too small for them and they have now moved to Solomon’s Porch.

The events of The Pentecost exploded the significance of this sect and exploded their numbers. Eventually, their message called the gospel of Jesus Christ was to blossom worldwide. That message continues to be powered by The Holy Ghost and this is what distinguishes Christians from any other mechanism to approach God.

The Holy Ghost is a spiritual force that manifests his godliness as a person. That may sound controversial to the uninitiated. Yet, the manifestations of this Spirit as a person has been seen mediating physical changes such as healing in various forms including spiritual ways in terms of morality and behaviors. In modern times, no schooling or form of apprenticeship is required to acquire and to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit. Hence, it has become easier to push the gospel beyond Solomon’s Porch and the frontiers of Jerusalem, Samaria and Judea to everywhere else in the world as Jesus Christ informed his disciples.

Not only do people find it easier to embrace godliness simply because they express faith in redemption embodied by the Name of Jesus Christ, testimonies abound about supernatural changes in morals, physical healing and speaking tongues as well as spiritual inclinations such as fasting and praying as demonstrations of the transformational power of the Holy Ghost.

Demonstration of Power in The Old Testament

More than we normally give Him credit for, the Holy Spirit had been interfering in the affairs of men since creation. In the very first chapter of the Bible, we are told about the Spirit of God evaluating the earth and not being pleased with it (Genesis 1:2).

Commonly, we run over this statement as if God was some physical king examining his kingdom or land space. Yet, the Bible clearly talks of His Spirit. Call it mind or thinking or evaluation or whatever may have been going on, some supernatural phenomenon influenced creation. It only stands to reason that the influencer will be interested in monitoring or guiding the outcomes of His creation.

Later on, we learn about the Spirit of God giving Noah some instructions (Genesis 7). Interestingly, we did see direct testimony of HIs possession of the spirit of man until Melchizedek was introduced to us as a character with some mysterious abilities, thanks to Abraham (Genesis 14; 1 John 4:13). His testimony can surely be trusted. By the time of Moses and Balaam, these people with these supernatural powers were already being called prophets rather than high priests. Such labels clearly identify that they produced physical results from supernatural, mysterious non-physical resources. In fact, they communicated directly with God through their spirits.

Hence, people like Samson, Elijah and Elijah were not only becoming commonplace, they had apprentices and trainees under them. Training and teaching in the word of God and the demonstration of His transformational power began to spread (1 Kings 13; 2 Kings 6). People consulted them because of their extraordinary powers. Prophets like Jeremiah , Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Micah and others in the Old Testament used these supernatural communicative abilities to guide their nations not as state officials but as recognized leaders among their peers. Many of them foretold the history and future trend of society as they translated the mind of God through their messages.

The Bridge From Heaven

By the time of John The Baptist, the revelation of the Holy Ghost had taken a new dimension. While it is true that Elijah called fire from heaven, we see another dimension of the Holy presence with lay men other than the prophets interacting or testifying of the intervention of God in human affairs. The voice from heaven at the baptism of Jesus Christ gave direct instructions for me to recognize the presence of Jesus Christ in their midst in another supernatural occurrence of influence (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:32-34).

Apollos was a follower of John The Baptist who testified of the mysterious abilities of the prophet. He had become an evangelist of the persuasion of John The Baptist and evangelized with miracles from that persuasion (Acts 18) Of course, his ministry gather more strength after he learnt that the expected Jesus Christ had come and that the Pentecost had happened from Priscilla and Aquila.

In addition, John The Baptist had taught his disciples several ways of the Holy Spirit, hence, they were able to discern who Jesus Christ is and followed Him (Luke 11:1; John 1:42). Prior to the Pentecost, the disciples were already demonstrating Holy Ghost power in healing and preaching (Mark 9: 28; Luke 10:17-19). In other words, in this dispensation prophets trained others in the ways of God and manifested the powers of the Holy Ghost.

Post - Pentecost Demonstration of Apostolic Power

When Jesus Christ was about to physically leave the earth, He instructed (Acts 1:2-4) the Apostles to go and wait for the promised Holy Ghost in Jerusalem before embarking on evangelism. This group led by the disciples were to become the foundation of the Church set up around the cornerstone called Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:20). The leaders who we now call the foundational apostles were not only blessed by the baptism but were able to transmit Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands on others as they mediated the growth of the Church (2 Corinthians 12:12).

The expression of the Holy Ghost is not only speaking in new tongues or being morally upright but also in the demonstration of power to bring an end to human suffering and frustration. Acts 5:16 tells us everyone who was sick from natural causes or those being afflicted by demons were healed. Once again, it takes power to shift anything from its location. Holy Ghost power kicked out those illnesses. Essentially, baptism of the Holy Ghost includes power over challenges to one’s destiny. The Holy Spirit frees people from bondages so that they can function to move the gospel.

However, the expression of Holy Ghost power provokes human responses. While believers are desirous of more power and the acquisition of it, unbelievers are either trying to understand it, understand the cost of this new faith system or become outrightly jealous. The extremes of jealousy can be seen in the subjection of the disciples to beatings and the other forms of persecution as the authorities became challenged with a potential overthrow of their political positions (Acts 5:17). Religion chose to fight grace.

It is not the entire popluation of Jerusalem that reacted with jealousy though. The records show that not everyone cared to join the believers even though they recognized the uniqueness of the group. We could say that some liked but were afraid to get too close because of social stigma or fear of the political authorities who were getting nervous about this new rapidly growing movement within their domain. It only makes sense when we realize that a small band of about 70 people had started counting 10,000 in a short space of time, all within one city, Jerusalem. It cannot be surprising that pulling 10,000 people from one congregation and moving them to another group in the same town caused concerns. That would worry any politician, any day.

While the outsiders noticed the bond of unity and distinctly enviable character of the Christians who were demonstrating miracles in the Name of Jesus Christ (Acts 5:12). They were not yet called Christians at this time but they were already becoming a separate group of Jews which makes it safe for us to adopt the terminology for this discussion. Yet, the membership was expanding and growing as people’s miserableness was being overturned to joy. The purpose of the Holy Ghost continued to be fulfilled as more people were joining the kingdom of God through the atoning blood of redemption shed by Jesus Christ (Acts 5:14). I think Peter demonstrated succinctly in the encounter at the Beautiful Gate when he said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”(Acts 3:6; NLT)

Holy Ghost Power in Modern Evangelism

Therefore, the foundation of what is to become the Church began with the Apostles showing the way to manage the gospel and evangelism. They were not opposed to Judaism but showed an advancement of religious practice in that the acquisition of the power of God.

The Holy Ghost was no more a preserve of certain families or people but became available to everyone in the laity by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is the only way that they could have stayed in the Upper Room and then be allowed to move on to Solomon’s Porch since they were not truly actively anti-state. Their way was a demonstration of the power of the Holy Ghost that ministers salvation and redemption from oppression.

Following this example and leadership of the assembled congregation in the Temple, the Church grew out of Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and on to Asia and Europe. The expectation of Jesus Christ was clear. Jesus said, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:17-18). At no point did He delimit the expression of these powers to certain categories of people or time dispensation. This is the minimal expectation of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone as demonstrated by the founding apostles for The Church to follow. Every member of the Church has the responsibility (every Christian must prophesy video) to flow in these powers.

Phillip was never named among the apostles, yet his work in Samaria was consequently confirmed with the visit of the apostles (Acts 8). Until Stephen was named a deacon, no one knew that he had such credentials (Acts 6:8-10). Hence, demonstration of Holy Ghost powers is not limited to ancient apostles or certain ordained leaders of the Church in any dispensation, the manifestation is for all Christians to testify of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every believer (cerebral palsy) must demonstrate the powers inherent in the Holy Ghost, not just in good manners but also in attracting unbelievers to the redemptive value of the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed to purchase the power for His bride.

Irrespective of wherever a Christian finds himself, when the Holy Ghost power is deployed into a situation, whether it is a failing marriage or a broken leg, testimonies engineer a shift in others. The testimonies have been known to move many observers into submission to the saving grace in the blood of Jesus Christ in many circumstances (Acts 13:44). Peter did not call for people to lay the sick on the ground so that his shadow may heal them. It was the challenge of pushing through the crowds that gave people such faith to try that. More importantly, Peter submitted himself to discipleship by Jesus Christ, hence the acquisition of such power by an obedient Peter (Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5: 1-11).

That They May Believe

Followership of Jesus Christ entitles every Christian to supernatural changes in morals, physical healing and speaking tongues. Further, they are strengthened by spiritual activities that include fasting and praying by the power of the Holy Ghost.

These changes mediated by the Holy Ghost has a purpose. God’s primary purpose for sending the Comforter was revealed to us by Jesus Christ when he said, “...so that the world will believe you sent me” (John 17:21b, NLT)

Even Mary was stunned when Angel Gabriel brought the message of God to her. She knew not how miracles happen, but when it happened it was so overpowering that she could not fight it (Luke 1:35, NLT). Joseph was stunned, everyone was stunned. When, Jesus Christ turned water into wine, the whole village was stunned (John 2:11). People began to pay attention. This is the transformation Holy Ghost power mediates, that people may see the difference.

In other words, if Christians were to deploy the giftings of the Holy Ghost, it will become easier for unbelievers to become children of God (Acts 5:14; Acts 13:44).